Home Kitchen Best Practices Checkup

Food mishandling in home kitchens causes a significant amount of foodborne disease (food poisoning). Numerous food safety problems commonly occur in home kitchens--fortunately, many of these problems can be corrected easily and inexpensively. The Home Kitchen Check-Up can help you identify how to reduce the risk for foodborne disease in your home kitchen.

Part A

How clean is your kitchen? What grade would a food inspector give it? To find out, take a few minutes to complete this check-up.
Count one (1) for each question if all of the bulleted points are TRUE for your kitchen.

Kitchen Facilities

Countertops and Cutting Boards:

Countertops and cutting boards have a smooth, corrosion-resistant, non-absorbent, and easily cleanable surface.

Countertops and cutting boards do NOT have pits, chips, scratches, deep grooves, distortion, or stains.

Countertops and cutting boards s are clean to sight and touch.

Countertops and cutting boards are always sanitized before and after food preparation.

are stored away from foods to prevent contamination of food and food preparation equipment or utensils.

are in their original containers; containers are intact and clearly labeled.

when used, insect/rodent-bait stations are covered and tamper resistant.

Personal Hygiene

Handwashing:

You always wash your hands with soap & water

BEFORE preparing food or eating.

AFTER handling raw meat/poultry/fish or raw produce.

AFTER smoking, eating, or drinking.

Food Preparation:

You minimize touching foods with your bare hands and avoid preparing food when you are sick (i.e., have diarrhea, fever, vomiting, open sores, or persistent cough/sneezing/runny nose).

Raw produce is washed thoroughly. Melons are washed before being sliced.

Part A Scoring

So, just how food safe is your home kitchen?

Count the number of questions where all of the bulleted items are TRUE for your kitchen in Part A, and then check your grade! If you got anything less than an A, look over the items you did not check and make changes to get your whole kitchen as food safe as it can be!

Score

Grade

Evaluation

0-3

F

FRIGHTENING! Don’t make another meal until you do some serious cleaning and improvement of your behaviors! The many food safety violations in your kitchen are hazardous to your health. Review the items you did not check and immediately make changes.

4-6

D

DANGER! Your kitchen and food habits pose many food safety dangers. Review the items you did not check and make changes right away!

7-9

C

CAUTION! Some parts of your kitchen and your behaviors are food safe, but not all. Review the items you did not check and make changes to get your whole kitchen and self in top food safety shape.

10-13

B

BETTER! Overall, your kitchen and habits are in good shape; but there are areas where you can improve. Take steps to get your whole kitchen and self in awesome food safety shape.

14

A

AWESOME! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

Part B

What do you know about safe food?

Select a. or b. to answer these questions and find out!

To make ground meat, chicken, and leftover food safe to eat, cook until its
internal temperature is at least: